Saturday, August 02, 2008

Yankee Stadium

Yankee Stadium is somehow different than I thought. Being one of the 3 "historic" stadiums remaining in baseball, the other 2 being Wrigley & Fenway, I expected to feel like I was in baseball Holy Ground. And let's face it, Yankee Stadium has seen more baseball history than every other baseball stadium combined. Yet somehow, I didn't feel that way at all. Yankee Stadium feels like a modern baseball stadium, with giant replay monitors, constant video, and non-stop music in your face. It has clearly seen substantial renovation over the years, all of which was definitely needed, but it does sort of strip the place of its history. I beleive that monument park exists in the outfield not because it is an organic extension of the history that has taken place there, but rather as a reintroduction of that history into a stadium that would barely be recognizable to those who came before.

All of that said, I loved it. One thing you can't tell on TV is that Yankee Stadium is total dump. I say this with total affection, as my favorite place on earth, Wrigley Field, is an even bigger dump. But the difference is in the presentation. Wrigley is a dump and embraces it, while Yankees Stadium tries to blind you to the fact that it is a dump with constant distraction and just plain gaudiness. This is ironic, as the Yankees try to portray their image as classy, when in fact it is really, really gaudy.

Anyway, as I get older and have begun to grow my family, I have really started putting a larger emphasis on unique experiences. At this point, going to Yankee Stadium as it exists today is a once in a lifetime experience. That place, which has been such a big part not just of baseball history, but of our national history, will not exist in a few months, and this was my only chance to see it. I couldn't be more glad that I did. Plus, I got to share it with my best bud Mike, which made it even better. Here are a few of our pictures. Many of these are photomerges, which explains the weird jaggedness, but I thought that was cooler than cropping them. This was a great day.